The invention relates to a graft clamp for securing a tissue graft.
A torn cruciate ligament is a common knee injury. One way to treat the injury is to replace the cruciate ligament with a tendon graft. Tunnels are drilled through the femur and tibia and the graft placed within the tunnels. One end of the graft is first fixed to the femur by a device which spans the tunnel opening, e.g., an endobutton described in Ferragamo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,894, entitled "Graft Attachment Device and Method of Attachment." The graft is then placed under tension, and the other end of the graft fixed to the tibia.
Known methods of fixing the graft to the tibia include attaching suture to the graft and using a screw positioned remote from the tunnel opening to secure the suture to the tibia. It is also known to position an interference screw within the tunnel in the tibia to fix the graft within the tunnel.